Friday, 29 July 2011

I am really happy to be part of Amy Carter's website For Ladies of Watersports (FLOW) riders. FLOW was created about a year ago with the aim of increasing the number of females in watersports by putting up various articles by ladies: training, fitness, competition and sport specific articles, and also organising various events for ladies to get into these sports. The riders section has a few riders from each sport's profile, with contact details and specific areas they would be happy to answer questions on. To see my profile visit this link and to see the other ladies profiles visit here. I hope you enjoy the website!

Tuesday, 26 July 2011

So Fuerte isn't really windy at the moment, and by the look of the rest of the Canaries, neither are they. We have done a fair bit of surfing, but the waves are fairly small unless we go to onshore North shore. Yesterday we hired a SUP and paddled around which was a lot of fun! Lets hope the wind returns, Saturday is looking promising... We are off to Sotavento soon to see if there is some wind there, but I would prefer some waves!

Thursday, 21 July 2011

So we have been in Fuerte for over a week now and have had a mixed set of conditions. We are staying in Cotillo which is really great as we can check outside our front door to see the wind and the swell. The first few days we sailed Punta Blanca, we had waves from waist high to logo high, but always 4.7 weather for me, and sometimes underpowered, so the sessions have mainly been riding rather than jumping. We have also sailed Cotillo once, one hit wave/shorebreak but pretty fun, and a tiny reef break on the East of the island twice. This break is cross-off port tack riding, float and ride, really fun and great practise for my riding. Yesterday was a really fun day there, we need more swell like that or bigger! We also went to Sotavento and sailed centre 2, but I was on my 3.4 and 84l tempo, which was too big for the chop there and hard to do freestyle on, so I didn’t really enjoy my session. Today the wind was really light and Glass beach was really busy so we surfed Esquinzo-a fun beach break that was over head. The next week looks light with the swell dropping off, so more surfing and then maybe Sotavento again-but hopefully it will change!The pictures below are from the reef break: me bottom turning around Stef sharing the wave; Punta Blanca; and the other is from John Carter: the girls on the PWA Pozo tour at the closing ceremony party.

Sunday, 10 July 2011

The event is now over with an amazing show in the finals and semis by Philip Koster (1st), Victor Fernandez (2nd) and Dario Ojeda (3rd) in the guys and Daida Moreno (1st), Iballo Moreno (2nd) and Karin Jaggi (3rd) in the girls. The wind is still blowing 40-50 knots with the waves picking up to logo to mast on some sets so well done to them!

I had my double heat yesterday against Karin Jaggi at probably the windiest part of the day, about 50 knots! It was the hardest heat I have ever sailed and I felt so overpowered and out of control on my 3.4 Icon and 68l Quatro Rhythm! I just didn't have the kit for the heat and felt like I was being blown all over the place in the air! Anyway some girls had the same kit and we all managed to sail though very overpowered! My heat got off to a good start with a flat water forward straight away (I didn't actually realise how low a forward I did until I saw the photos!) I was afraid of doing them in that wind so I went of the tiniest ramp and still made it round! Followed by a table top (more like donkey kick) and a big jump. I struggled with my waves a little as whenever I went frontside I was so powered I couldn't hold on on the top turn and I struggled to turn my board tight. I did do some big airs though and some reasonable table top attempts, and also got a backside air. I did get really tired arms really quickly though due to the wind so I didn't have the strength to muscle the kit and I should have tried another bigger forward. I came away happy though, I did the best I could have done given the conditions and my kit and didn't mind losing to Karin who had better waves and bigger forwards, afterall she came 3rd overall!

Things I have learnt from doing the comp: Well definitely how to play safe in the heats, stay upwind first, take the smaller waves to get the points then go for the bigger ones downwind (first mistake made in my first heat). Also do lots and lots of jumps to make sure you get the best scoring ones. Get a custom! I will sort one out when I am back in the UK as it is definitely holding me back. I also need to work on my port tack jumping as I haven't really done much at all.

Thursday, 7 July 2011

First heat against Laure Treboux: Well I am out! It didn't go too well either, I was at least hoping for a reasonable heat to go out in! All morning the wind was ok, a little light on the inside but nicely powered on the outside, 4.2 weather. So I de-powered my 4.2 and it should have been perfect, with about waist to maybe head high waves, but choppy and messy. Finally after being postponed for a long time the girls were up, our heat of four first: Laure v me and Silvia v Karin Jaggi. The wind dropped in our heat, and I really wasn't very powered. I struggled to find a wave, managed a straight jump, then took what was a nice head high wave from the outside. I did a nice backside hit but on coming down I landed on the whitewater and pretty much nose dived and wiped out. This would have been fine if there was wind to get out again, but I was on the rocks with no power and wasted loads of time trying to get out again! Finally I made it out but I was downwind where the wind strength was less and there was only a few minutes left. 2 jumps and 2 waves to count, 15 minute heat (which is long!) but I still managed to muck it up and I didn't even do a forward as I just wasn't too powered. Karin went in to change up a sail and I guess the others were powered as they stayed upwind. Lesson learnt-don't go for the big waves downwind at the beginning of the heat!! I have the double next, but I think I have Karin Jaggi, who came 3rd last year, so I am not having too much luck! I just hope I can redeem myself in my next heat and sail how I have been sailing recently! Anyhow, here are some photo stills from my heat and one from the PWA site I am guessing taken by John Carter?

The four girls:The backside fall that made me spend most of the heat downwind!

Wednesday, 6 July 2011

Day 1: Really windy! I was going to be stacked on my 3.4 as a small French guy called Antoine was sailing his 2.8m! The waves were good too, logo to mast on the bigger sets, so the guys put on a pretty impressive show, with doubles, massive backloops and stalled forwards, forwards of the lip, nice wave 360s etc - you can imagine in about 40 knots of wind! The judges got through about 17 heats of the Mens single elimination before the wind got lighter and the waves backed off. I went out on 3.4 during the postponement but wasn't powered up. The ladies were meant to run after heat 20 but we never got that far!

Day 2: A late start after last nights opening ceremony, 11.30 skippers meeting. However this was postponed hour by hour until about 2pm they called off today for a 12.30 start tomorrow. The waves had backed right down to about knee to waist high and I was barely powered on my 4.7.

Tomorrow is looking unfortunately similar to today, but Friday is more windy anhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifd Saturday and Sunday are going to be nuts with big swell and really strong winds! I am up against PWA regular freestyler Laure Treboux, who has been doing PWA wave and freestyle for years so I need a lot of luck! I'll let you know how it goes!

Here is the link to day one's video on the front page of the pwa site: PWA site

Saturday, 2 July 2011

After loads of time thinking 'Do I enter? Don't I?' Finally I have paid for the event, too late now I am doing it! I think it would be really good for me to enter and a great experience. As it wasn't really planned I have had to extend my stay in Pozo by 2 days and I will be missing the Tenerife event as we are off to Fuerte. No bad thing though, I have never sailed Tenerife. Here I will focus on sailing my best, I think I will be soooo nervous! If I don't come last I will be really happy for my first event.

As for training here it has been a little hard. Yesterday I was so tired I only managed to get on the water at 4 and it was so rammed I got a little angry as I couldn't practise anything I wanted to, especially going frontside! I also forgot that the next three days before the comp it is the spanish competition, so I don't think we can sail much now-or when we can everyone will go on the water... So not as much preparation as I wanted. However if I can pull together all the good moves I can do in one heat I should be ok (though this is unlikely under pressure!) We will see, I'll keep you updated!

About Me

I started windsurfing when I was 16 on family watersports holidays once a year. I got properly hooked on my gap year in the British Army in 2005, competing and training in Egypt, Holland and the UK. During this year I saved some money for my own kit and in 2006 started studying aerospace engineering at Southampton University, joining the windsurf club. Sailing around the South coast with lots of friends provided lots of competition, and competing all around the country against other Universities in the Student Windsurf Association events gave me an appetite for competing. For the last couple of years at University I competed in the UK wave circuit, travelling to Wales, Ireland and Scotland. In 2010 after University I secured a job with a big engineering firm, Babcock, but managed to get a deferred entry and sailed in Brazil, Maui and the Canaries, competing in my first PWA event in Gran Canaria. Now I live and work in Plymouth in the UK and sail and surf as much as possible around my job.